A Simple Request
by Ashplosion
Summary: SilMil, prequel to Deciphering Lovers. Minako makes a simple request of Rei, but because their home planets have different faiths, she's unsure how her wife will react. A discussion of the Venusian religion ensues. T for implied sex.


**Author's notes:** Oh damn. This is a prequel to _Deciphering Lovers_. It can be read without having already read that one, but it clarifies details from that story further. As in… that final signal that Minako and Rei exchanged, that the king didn't understand. ;)

Rei collapsed beside a panting Minako, her own chest heaving as she curled into her lover's side and smiled contentedly. "You're amazing," Minako stated with a grin. Rei blushed lightly and smiled. A soft sound of contentment escaped her throat as Minako began to run her fingers through long, jet black hair. The pair lay like that for a moment before the blonde spoke again. "Rei… I have a question."

"Yes, Minako?"

"Do you consider us married, by your faith?" The Martian made a face and sat up slightly to look at her wife.

"Of course. What kind of silly question is that?" The blonde averted her eyes, causing the Martian to lean in closer. "Minako. Look at me." The blonde obeyed immediately. "You are my wife, regardless of what anyone says." Rei kissed her gently, and smiled softly. "What's bothering you, Love?"

"I… Daddy asked me the other day why we were married in the Lunar Kingdom."

"Your father doesn't like me."

"I think Daddy does like you, Rei. I just told him it's halfway between Mars and Venus."

"My family chose not to attend. You know how King Fury feels about our relationship." Minako frowned as her father-in-law came to the forefront of her mind. His first words to Rei the day they'd been introduced was demanding to know why in the twin hells of the Martian moons a foreigner was being introduced to his temple. Rei had quivered with anger for the rest of the night.

"There was the hope," Minako said with a sigh. Rei nodded silently, waiting for the blonde to continue. "Anyway, it got me thinking… I love you. I consider you to be my wife in every sense of the word, but I also believe very strongly in my faith. By the laws of the goddess, we did not have a proper Venusian wedding." The princess felt, rather than saw, the priestess' eyes narrow. She sucked in a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves at her next suggestion, but she could not force it past her tongue. Rei sensed the hesitation.

"Minako… Are you saying we are not married by your religion?" The blonde nodded, and the priestess sighed. "I don't understand… we brought in every Venusian wedding custom we could. The only Martian touch to it all was the blood ceremony." Minako cringed slightly and looked back at her wife. She blushed from frustration as she was pulled back from her thoughts by deep amethyst eyes.

"I am saying we are not married by my religion, Rei." The priestess deflated almost immediately.

"But your people love me…and your family… we just…and your laws…Minako?" The blonde pressed a gentle kiss to Rei's lips. The poor girl rarely showed surprised, but she'd been so startled she'd even reverted to Martian. Minako kind of felt guilty… Rei rarely spoke her native tongue anymore. Gently, she switched to the language too as she addressed her wife. Gently.

"Yes, Venus adores you. My family adores you, however my father behaves. And what about what we just did, Reiko? We made love. There's nothing wrong with that. We're in love. I know what Venus' laws are. We _didn't_ have sex before our marriage. Reiko, _we are married_. I've just been thinking that maybe on our next anniversary, I'd like to renew our vows in the Temple of Venus in a small, private ceremony. It is a request for my faith." Slowly, Rei began breathing again.

"Absolutely, Mina," she mumbled in reply as she kissed the other woman. "I would do anything for you." Minako smiled and cradled the other woman close. Rei was always so determined to make her happy; she gave so much to Minako that the blonde didn't think she could ever return it.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Minako began as she resumed scratching her wife's head. "It's just that I've been feeling a need to reconnect to my faith before I finally take the throne, and I stumbled across a passage in the sacred text that discusses marriage. Do you know what Venusian laws for marriage are, Love?"

"No," the dark-haired woman replied. "Remember, Minako, that marriage is largely nonexistent on Mars. Most faiths use a variation on the blood ceremony." Minako cringed, remembering the graphic description Rei had given when she finally connected the concept of marriage to something from her own culture. It had certainly taken time for Minako to be okay with the idea. She absently relaxed her left hand as Rei gently traced a finger over the small scar on the taller woman's wrist. She was somewhat comforted by the fact that Rei had a similar scar on her right one. She could almost recall her immediate, angry "oh hell no" to Rei's simple request to include this one Martian rite in their Lunar ceremony. The scar remaining behind actually made her smile these days. "I only know that we were not permitted to make love prior to marriage because of the law."

"The marriage laws of Venus are based on our sacred texts. Essentially, every Venusian is to abstain from sexual contact until marriage, marriage is not permitted without love, and that wedding must be witnessed by a priest. A proper Venusian wedding takes place in the Temple of Venus. It's supposed to embody our devotion to Venus and what she stands for."

"Sex, love and beauty."

"Correct. Just don't go running off with the stereotype that we're all sexual maniacs," Minako laughed. "Sex and love are meant to go together, and love is beautiful, is the point."

"I see," Rei said, cocking her head at her wife. "But there was a Venusian priest at our wedding."

"Well, kind of," Minako sighed. "He was training to become a priest, which is still acceptable to our people. The Martian priestess at our wedding was more properly considered in that position." The blonde winked at her wife; Rei had been the only Martian at the wedding.

"The blood ceremony must be carried out by a priestess. Even priests are not permitted to conduct it; it has to be a female," Rei replied while absently moving her hand to begin tracing the scar on her right wrist.

"I would just like to do this to better root my faith. I feel guilty that I've made my father wait so long for this, but I couldn't ask this of you until I was ready and strong enough in my beliefs to actually give a damn about it."

"Minako, as long as you are asking for you and not to appease someone else, I will do this. Whether in Venus' eyes or not, you are my wife, and I support you." Minako smiled at her wife and wiped away an errant tear.

"Thank you, Rei… I love you."


End file.
